STRIPPER IN TRAINING, BEERLAO O'CLOCK, FREE SEX, I SOLD MY SOLE FOR A SHOT OF LAO LAO.... these are just a few of the slogans we have found plastered across ourselves over the last few days! And where else would this be than in Vang Vieng?

After gently easing ourselves in on the first night we arrived, by sitting in a bar and watching back to back Friends episodes (it has been AGES) since we have done that, and purchasing the obligatory tubing vest, we wasted no time by getting straight in a tube the next day! We started about 1pm and were told that it takes about 3 hours to get down the river as it is 4km long. As soon as we arrived at the river we could tell it was going to live up to the hype, and it was pretty sweet being decked out on bamboo mats in the sun drinking a Beerlao and taking in all the shenanigans! It was especially entertaining watching people on the rope swings! We spent the whole afternoon like this, with just a small tube ride between bars, with many Beerlaos and free shots! At the second bar there was a big zip line, which we had built up enough courage to try (actually most of mine was Dutch and helped by the fact Jonny went first), and luckily we didn't die and it was actually really good fun!

By 4pm we had not even made it 500m down the river, and were starting to think we should get some serious tubing done, we just didn't understand why everyone was still sitting in the first bar! Little did we know at this point that no one makes it past the first few bars and that you have to get a tuk tuk back home if you don't want to tube in the dark! Thankfully an American girl at our last bar filled us on on this, and hooked us up in getting a lift back to town... Although only after making sure we got one of our five a day!!

After getting back to town a night out ensued, with some couples we had met along the way. Although for me and Jonny it seemed to focus as much around eating as drinking, as we somehow managed to polish off 4 meals between the 2 of us!

Needless to say the next morning we were feeling more than a little bit delicate, and we had stupidly decided it would be a good idea to book onto a trek starting at 9am! And especially because Jonny is nearly 28 now and not as young as he used to be, he was struggling the most! Anyway after a very bumpy tuk tuk ride we did some more tubing in a cave which was pretty cool! Especially with the guide singing what sounded like Buddhist prayers it made the experience more authentic, if a little eerie! Back in daylight we had lunch (at 11.15am?!) then went to 'elephant cave', called this as there is a rock which looks like an elephant (if u squint).

Then we realised that the second half of the day was more tubing (note to self: always make sure you are sober when you book a trip). So it was basically like returning to the scene of the crime! Except this time we were joined by a guide in a kayak and a chinese lady who was a bit of a 'character' (bit special). Because we couldn't really face more drinking we drifted past most of the bars, and decided to tube all the way to the end of the river. In hindsight this was errors because it's dry season and so we basically had to paddle for 4km! At one point we were even sharing the river with some water buffalo taking a bath! Turns out there's a reason why everyone gets a tuk tuk home! At our guides insistence we stopped at a couple of bars and still somehow ended up getting spray painted. Jonny's was a rather fetching heart and stars, typical!

That night we headed to another friends bar to chill out and sample a Lao delicacy which is laap... Basically meat in spices and coriander served with salad and sticky rice... It was amazing!

Next day we had decided to stick around in Vang Vieng just to have a chill out day. So after a good lie in we got a fry up, where I almost got myself a Lao boyfriend. He said I had perfect pronunciation of khawp jai an kept making me say it, he couldn'tget enough! The rest of the day we spent at..... you guessed it....a Friends bar. I think we probably watched a whole series in an afternoon, accompanied by a banana shake which I am now addicted to. That night we stayed up to watch the footy, and I almost got myself another boyfirend, this time in the form of a drunken irish man who sat down next to me, fell asleep on my shoulder then subsequently tried to spoon me. Not cool!

On Sunday it was time to leave Vang Vieng, and our hearts sank when the most rickety bus you have ever seen in your life pulled up to pick us up. Luckily it was just a transfer to the bus station, because there was no way that 'bus' would have made 6 hours on windey roads all the way to Luang Prabang!